Rep. Young Votes For Largest Discretionary Spending Cut In The History Of Nation

Published: February 21, 2011

Washington, D.C. - The Republican-led U.S. House passed H.R. 1, the Continuing Resolution (CR), early this morning, which would keep the government funded from March 4 through the end of FY11. The CR was passed by a vote of 235-189, following four days of open debate. The measure would cut spending by more than $100 billion from the President's spending requests. Alaskan Congressman Don Young voted in favor of H.R. 1.

"This has been a very long but productive week," said Rep. Young. "It has been quite some time since we have had such open and honest debate in the House. The bill we passed works to stop harmful regulations, contains many amendments (including my own) that curb the job-killing EPA, and defunds various parts of the socialist Obamacare. The most important thing we can do to get people back to work is to cut the regulations that prohibit production in the United States. Spending cuts are absolutely necessary and the first step to getting the country back on track, but it's the regulatory cuts that will truly make the difference and help us become a producing nation again."

H.R. 1 will now move to the U.S. Senate for consideration. It must be signed by the President by March 4, 2011 to avoid a government shutdown.

Of the 580 amendments offered by both parties, 67 were accepted or passed including two from Congressman Young:

Amendment #532 strikes language from the CR that would eliminate all funding for the Alaska Native Education Equity Act and the Native Hawaiian Education Program. 532 passed the House by a vote of 313- 117.

Amendment #533 limits funds from being used by the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) to consider, review, reject, remand, or invalidate any permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for activities on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). 533 passed the House with a vote of 243 - 185.

Additional amendments of interest: • An amendment from Rep. McKinley (R-WV) that prohibits funding for the EPA to deny proposed and active mining permits under Section 404 (c) of the Clean Water Act. • An amendment from Rep. Griffith (R-VA) prohibiting the EPA, Corps of Engineers and the Office of Surface Mining from implementing coordination procedures that have served to extend and delay the review of coal mining permits. • An amendment from Rep. Emerson (R-MO) that bars the use of funds in the bill from being used to implement the individual mandate and penalties and reporting requirements of the President's health care law. • An amendment from Reps. Poe (R-TX), Barton (R-TX) and Carter (R-TX) that defines specifically what greenhouse gases are and prohibits the EPA from imposing regulations on those gasses emitted by a stationary source for seven months. • An amendment from Rep. Price (D-NC) that creates a subsidy for the operating expenses of state and local communities by waiving the cost share and eligibility requirements for SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Responders) Grants. • An amendment from Rep. Scalise (R-LA) that prohibits the use of federal funds to pay the salaries and expenses of the following "czars," or special presidential advisers who are not required to go through the Senate confirmation process: Obama Care Czar, Climate Change Czar, Global Warming Czar, Green Jobs Czar, Car Czar, Guantanamo Bay Closure Czar, Pay Czar and Fairness Doctrine Czar. • An amendment from Rep. Weiner (D-NY) that eliminates $42.6 million in funding from the United States Institute of Peace. • An amendment from Rep. Whitfield (R-KY) to eliminate $1.5 million for the "Greening of the Capitol" initiative from the Legislative Branch section of the CR.